Providing a virtual reality transportation experience

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed toward systems and methods for a virtual reality transportation system. In particular, the systems and methods described herein present a virtual reality experience including a virtual environment for display to a passenger including virtual inertial interactions that correspond to real-world inertial forces that a passenger experiences while riding in a vehicle. Additionally, the systems and methods described herein analyze historical sensory data to predict inertial forces that the passenger will experience while riding in the vehicle. The systems and methods also generate a virtual sensory view for display to a passenger to represent what an autonomous transportation vehicle sees by way of a sensor suite used for navigation.

BACKGROUND

Transportation services (e.g., ride share services, taxi services, etc.)provide a way for passengers to travel from one place to another withrelative ease. For example, ride share transportation services enablepassengers to request transportation from nearly any location and atalmost any time. By assigning a nearby driver to pick up a requestingpassenger, transportation services generally provide an added level ofconvenience to the passenger, without the passenger relying on a busschedule, navigating to a subway station, or even owning a vehicle. Toillustrate, a ride share transportation service may enable a passengerto request a driver for roadside pickup and to deliver the passenger toa desired destination (e.g., as the passenger designates by way of amobile device). The ride share system then matches and assigns a driverfor the user based on location and other factors to quickly andefficiently transport the passenger. With the advancement ofsmartphones, requesting a driver is even simpler than before. Forinstance, a passenger can utilize a mobile application to request adriver, and, via the location information associated with thesmartphone, the ride share system can match a nearby driver to therequest to pick up the passenger and deliver the passenger to a desireddestination, all more efficiently than in times past. However, whileconventional transportation systems do provide some benefits,conventional transportation systems nonetheless have severaldisadvantages.

For example, conventional transportation systems create a sense ofmonotony in passengers. In particular, conventional systems provideexperiences that are repetitive and that prevent passengers fromenjoying a more engaging ride experience. To illustrate, a passenger ina conventional system does little more than request a ride, wait forpickup, travel with a driver, and pay for the service—and somepassengers travel the same roads routinely to commute to and from work,for example. Additionally, conventional transportation systems isolatepassengers. In other words, conventional systems communicate on auser-by-user basis, effectively separating each individual passengerfrom one another. Conventional systems treat each passenger ride asseparate events and provide ride-related information such as maps,time-to-destination estimations, etc. to each user individually. Thus,conventional systems engender a sense of isolation in passengersutilizing a conventional transportation service.

Furthermore, conventional virtual reality systems frequently rely on aknown story or a predefined route (e.g., an established roller coastertrack) to provide a virtual reality experience to a user. For instance,conventional virtual reality systems generate an immersive virtualenvironment for presentation to a user based on an unchangingpredesigned series of events. Therefore, these conventional virtualreality system suffer from disadvantages in adaptability andvariability.

Thus, there are several disadvantages with regard to conventionaltransportation systems.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments described herein provide benefits and solve oneor more of the foregoing or other problems in the art with systems andmethods for providing a virtual reality transportation experience. Inparticular, the systems and methods described herein generatethree-dimensional virtual objects within three-dimensional virtualsurroundings to display to a passenger by way of a virtual realitydevice. To illustrate, the systems and methods described herein gathersensory information regarding various travel routes to build ahistorical sensory information database. That is to say, the systems andmethods collect and compile sensory data related to inertial forcesassociated with each route navigated by each transportation vehicle ofthe system. Based on the historical sensory data, the systems andmethods described herein predict inertial forces that a passenger willexperience during a travel route. The systems and methods generate avirtual reality experience including virtual interactions to coincidewith the predicted inertial forces so that the interactions (e.g.,events) within the virtual reality experience appear to the passenger tocause any actual inertial forces that occur throughout the travel route(e.g., as a result of starting, stopping, accelerating, decelerating,turning, etc.).

In addition, or alternatively, to providing a virtual reality experiencerelating to inertial forces throughout a travel route, the systems andmethods described herein also provide a display of a sensory view of thesurroundings of a transportation vehicle to a passenger. In other words,in the case of an autonomous transportation vehicle, the systems andmethods take sensory readings (e.g., by way of a sensor suite of thetransportation vehicle) to detect objects within the surroundings of thetransportation vehicle and present a three-dimensional virtual displayof the objects within a virtual rendering of the surroundings. Thus, thesystems and methods generate and provide a virtual sensoryrepresentation to the passenger.

The systems and methods described herein also enable a passenger toshare a view of the virtual reality experience with others. For example,the systems and methods provide the three-dimensional virtual realityexperience with other passengers currently riding in the sametransportation vehicle, with passengers of other transportationvehicles, with passengers waiting for pickup, and/or even with otherindividuals who are not passengers.

By providing a three-dimensional virtual reality experience, the systemsand methods described herein provide a more engaging and immersiveexperience than conventional systems. Additionally, by providing thesevirtual objects for presentation within an immersive three-dimensionalvirtual reality environment, the systems and methods also create agreater sense of user engagement. Furthermore, by providing the optionto share a virtual experience with others, the systems and methodsdescribed herein are more inclusive and inviting than conventionalsystems.

Additional features and advantages of the present application will beset forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by the practice of such exampleembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This disclosure will describe one or more embodiments of the inventionwith additional specificity and detail by referencing the accompanyingfigures. The following paragraphs briefly describe those figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example environment of avirtual reality transportation system in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a sequence diagram for presenting a virtual realityexperience in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate another sequence diagram for presenting a virtualreality experience in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a sequence diagram for presenting a virtual realitysensory view of the surroundings of a transportation vehicle inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example virtual reality experience from apassenger perspective in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates another example virtual reality experience from apassenger perspective in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example virtual reality environment of a sensoryview from a top-down perspective in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method ofproviding a virtual reality transportation experience in accordance withone or more embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method ofproviding a virtual reality transportation experience of a sensory viewin accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computing device inaccordance with one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an example virtual reality transportation system inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments described herein provide benefits and solve oneor more of the foregoing or other problems in the art with a virtualreality transportation system. For example, the virtual realitytransportation system generates and provides a three-dimensional virtualreality experience for (e.g., by way of a virtual reality device) to apassenger. In particular, the virtual reality experience includesvirtual interactions (e.g., virtual experiences or virtual actions) thatcorrespond to inertial forces that the virtual reality transportationsystem predicts a passenger will experience while riding in atransportation vehicle. The virtual interactions give the passenger theimpression that the virtual interactions cause whatever actual inertialforces the passenger really does experience while riding in thetransportation vehicle.

To generate the virtual reality transportation experience, the virtualreality transportation system accesses historical sensory data for atravel route. The historical sensory data describes inertial forces andother motion-related information for the travel route—i.e., thehistorical sensory data includes information indicating when and whereand with what intensity a sensor suite on a transportation vehicleexperiences inertial forces along the route. The virtual realitytransportation system stores the historical sensory data for each routethat each vehicle associated with the virtual reality transportationsystem travels. Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation systembuilds a historical sensory database across the entire system.

To store the historical sensory data, the virtual reality transportationsystem collects and accumulates the historical information over eachroute traveled by a transportation vehicle. To illustrate, the virtualreality transportation system may have a number of transportationvehicles (e.g., cars, buses, ferries, etc.) all over the world that pickup and transport passengers, delivering them to various destinationsacross the globe. For each route that each transportation vehicletravels, the virtual reality transportation system gathers informationby way of a sensor suite on, connected to, or otherwise integrated withthe transportation vehicle.

For example, the sensor suite of each transportation vehicle recordsinertial forces (e.g., gravitational-forces or “g-forces”) and othermotion-related information such as direction, speed, acceleration, etc.,as the transportation vehicle travels. The virtual realitytransportation system logs the data that each sensor suite gathers andrecords the data relative to the location of the transportation vehicleat the time the sensor suite gathers the data. This way, the virtualreality transportation system correlates certain inertial forces,speeds, directions, etc., with specific turns in the road or specificstop signs, yield signs and/or current traffic at a particular time ofday in a given location. Indeed, the virtual reality transportationsystem also maintains a record of the location of each transportationvehicle by way of a global positioning system (“GPS”) and/or a GPSdevice of the transportation vehicle (e.g., as part of the sensorsuite).

Beyond collecting historical sensory data, the virtual realitytransportation system predicts inertial forces that a transportationvehicle—and any passengers within the transportation vehicle—willexperience along a particular travel route. To predict inertial forces,the virtual reality transportation system first receives a request forpickup from a passenger. The virtual reality transportation systemmatches the passenger based on the location of the passenger with adriver and assigns the driver to pick up the passenger and transport thepassenger to a desired destination. For instance, a passenger utilizes amobile application to request a ride and to further indicate a desireddestination, whereupon the virtual reality transportation system matchesthe driver to the passenger and informs both parties (e.g., by way ofrespective mobile devices) that the driver will pick up and transportthe passenger.

Upon receiving the request for pickup along with the indication of thedesired destination, the virtual reality transportation systemidentifies a location of the passenger (e.g., by way of a GPS locatordevice of the passenger's mobile device) and determines a travel routeto transport the passenger to the desired destination. To illustrate,the virtual reality transportation system analyzes current trafficinformation for the roads in the area around the passenger's location aswell as in the area around the desired destination to determine anoptimal or ideal travel route (e.g., based on which route is fastest,shortest, fewest turns, has the fewest turns, or some other factor).Additionally, the virtual reality transportation system analyzeshistorical information related to past traffic patterns as well as toprevious travel routes that previous transportation vehicles have usedto transport previous passengers throughout the area to determine whichtravel routes are historically faster, shorter, require fewer turns,etc.

After determining the travel route that the driver will navigate totransport the passenger to the desired destination, the virtual realitytransportation system identifies maneuvers (e.g., turns, stops, merges,accelerations, decelerations, etc.) along the travel route. For eachmaneuver along the travel route, the virtual reality transportationsystem predicts an inertial force that the transportation vehicle andthe passenger will experience. For instance, the virtual realitytransportation system accesses the historical information for eachmaneuver along the route and identifies previous inertial forces thattransportation vehicles have experienced in the past for the same turns,merges, stops, etc. In some cases, the virtual reality transportationsystem determines (e.g., calculates) an average of each of the previousinertial forces for the maneuvers along the travel route to predict theinertial forces that the passenger will experience. Additional detailregarding the previous inertial forces is provided below with referenceto the figures.

Based on the predicted inertial forces, the virtual realitytransportation system generates a virtual reality experience for thepassenger. In other words, the virtual reality transportation systemgenerates a three-dimensional immersive virtual reality environmentincluding virtual objects and virtual interactions for presentation tothe passenger (e.g., by way of a virtual reality device). The virtualreality transportation system generates virtual interactions tocorrespond to the predicted inertial forces that the passenger willexperience along the travel route. To elaborate, the virtual realitytransportation system generates a virtual reality experience to includevirtual interactions at one or more of the places or times wheremaneuvers are located along the route so that the virtual interactions,which may include, but are not necessarily limited to, virtualcollisions with objects, virtual turns, virtual drops, etc., give thepassenger the impression that that the virtual interactions cause theinertial forces corresponding to the maneuvers.

As an example, the virtual reality transportation system generates athree-dimensional virtual reality transportation experience thatincludes an immersive environment such as a river rafting scene with arushing, tree-lined river, mountains in the background, and a boat thatrepresents the transportation vehicle. As the transportation vehiclebegins navigating the travel route to transport the passenger to thedestination, the virtual reality transportation system provides thevirtual reality environment to a virtual reality device that thepassenger is wearing or otherwise watching. Thus, the passenger sees thesurrounding trees and mountains, and as the transportation vehiclebegins to move, so does the virtual reality experience. For instance,the boat that the passenger appears to be sitting in begins floatingdown the river and gives the passenger the impression that the speed ofthe virtual river is commensurate with the actual, real-world speed ofthe transportation vehicle.

Continuing the example, the virtual reality transportation systempresents the virtual reality experience with virtual interactions placedat various timing and/or distance intervals to match the time and/ordistance it takes for the transportation vehicle to encounter thecorresponding maneuvers in the real world. Thus, when the transportationvehicle performs a maneuver, such as an acceleration, for example, thepassenger sees a section of rapids in the river and feels as though theboat speeds up as it floats through the rapids downstream, giving thepassenger the impression that the virtual interaction (e.g., crossingthe rapids) causes the sensation of being slightly pinned back in theseat that was actually due to the acceleration of the transportationvehicle. Additional detail regarding various other virtual interactionsand detail regarding other features of the appearance and functionalityof the virtual reality transportation experience is provided below withreference to the figures.

In some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system generatesa three-dimensional virtual reality transportation experience thatincludes a display of other transportation vehicles. In other words, thevirtual reality transportation system generates a three-dimensionalenvironment to include three-dimensional objects that represent othertransportation vehicles within (e.g., associated with) the virtualreality transportation system. For example, the virtual realitytransportation system presents, within a virtual reality transportationexperience, a view of one or more other transportation vehicles asthough they are a part of the virtual reality experience.

To illustrate an example, the virtual reality transportation systemgenerates a virtual reality transportation experience that includes ascene of outer space where the transportation vehicles appear as UFOs orflying saucers. As the passenger perceives the virtual realityexperience by way of a virtual reality device, the passenger sees one ormore other flying saucers that each represent another transportationvehicle associated with the virtual reality transportation system.

In some cases, the virtual reality transportation system determines alocation of each of the transportation vehicles and, based on thelocations of each transportation vehicle, determines (e.g., calculates)a distance between the passenger's transportation vehicle and each ofthe other transportation vehicles. Based on the determined distance, thevirtual reality transportation system presents the flying saucers—orother representative objects—corresponding to each of the othertransportation vehicles as either smaller or larger within the view ofthe virtual reality environment of outer space, depending on whether thetransportation vehicles are farther away or closer to the passenger'stransportation vehicle, respectively.

As part of the virtual reality experience in these embodiments, thevirtual reality transportation system enables passengers within each ofthe transportation vehicles to interact. For example, the virtualreality transportation system generates a virtual game of tag where eachflying saucer can fire a laser at other flying saucers in, for example,the direction that the passenger aims. The virtual realitytransportation system may also notify each passenger within therespective transportation vehicles when their transportation vehicle(e.g., flying saucer) has been hit and/or when they have scored a hit onsomeone else. Additional detail regarding providing a view of otherpassengers and/or transportation vehicles within the virtual realityexperience is provided below with reference to the figures.

In these or other embodiments, the virtual reality transportation systemgenerates and provides a virtual sensory view to the passenger. Toillustrate, the virtual reality transportation system analyzes thesurroundings of the transportation vehicle by way of the transportationvehicle's sensor suite. The sensor suite may include, but is not limitedto, a light detection and ranging (“LIDAR”) sensor, an accelerometer, agyroscope, and/or a magnetometer. The accelerometer, gyroscope, andmagnetometer may be housed together in an electronic device called aninertial measurement unit (“IMU”) to measure specific force, angularrate, and/or magnetic field.

In any case, a vehicle associated with the virtual realitytransportation system detects objects (e.g., buildings, roads,sidewalks, people, etc.) within the surroundings of the transportationvehicle by using the sensor suite. Based on the sensory readings of thesensor suite in analyzing the surroundings of the transportationvehicle, the virtual reality transportation system generates athree-dimensional virtual representation of the sensory readings thatdepicts the surrounding area from a view as the transportation vehiclewould “see” the world. In some embodiments, however, the transportationvehicle associated with the virtual reality transportation systemgenerates the three-dimensional virtual representation of the sensoryreadings. In these or other embodiments, the transportation vehicle mayfurther provide the three-dimensional virtual representation of thesensory readings to the passenger (e.g., by way of a passenger clientdevice and/or a device within the transportation vehicle itself). In anycase, the virtual reality transportation system and/or thetransportation vehicle provide the virtual sensory view to the passengerby way of a virtual reality device, as mentioned above. Additionaldetail regarding the virtual sensory view is provided below withspecific reference to FIG. 7.

An additional feature of the virtual reality transportation system isthe ability to share a virtual reality experience with others. That isto say, the virtual reality transportation system enables a passenger toshare (e.g., transmit, transfer, etc.) a three-dimensional virtualreality presentation (e.g., the river scene or the sensory viewdescribed above) with another passenger or with another individual whois not a passenger. In some cases, the virtual reality transportationsystem enables the passenger to share a view, as the passenger observesthrough a virtual reality device, with another passenger of the sametransportation vehicle or with a passenger of another transportationvehicle associated with the virtual reality transportation system.

Accordingly, by enabling passengers to share a presentation of a virtualreality experience with others, the virtual reality transportationcreates a greater sense of inclusion within the transportationexperience. In particular, the virtual reality transportation systemhelps a second passenger enjoy the same experience as the firstpassenger so that the virtual reality transportation experience can bemore communal in nature. Thus, the virtual reality transportation systemhelps passengers feel more connected than in conventional systems.

By generating and providing a virtual reality transportation experience,the virtual reality transportation system described herein is moreimmersive than conventional transportation systems. For example, thevirtual reality transportation system provides a virtual experiencethroughout the duration of a travel route as a passenger rides in atransportation vehicle. The passenger feels as though the virtualexperience causes the motions that the passenger feels throughout theride. In some cases, the virtual reality transportation system providesa virtual reality experience that is more thrilling or scary, while inother cases the virtual reality transportation system provides a virtualreality experience that is more light-hearted and fun (e.g., in responseto a setting selection by the passenger). In any case, the virtualreality transportation system is more immersive and engaging thanconventional transportation systems.

In addition, the virtual reality transportation system described hereinis more variable and adaptive than other conventional virtual realitysystems. In particular, by generating virtual interactions andthree-dimensional virtual objects based on real-world sensoryinformation (e.g., sensory readings taken by one or more transportationvehicles), the virtual reality transportation system generates a virtualreality experience that is variable depending on locations and/or timingof predicted inertial forces and/or identified real-world objects alonga travel route. Therefore, the virtual reality transportation system isless restricted than conventional systems.

More detail regarding the virtual reality transportation system will nowbe provided with reference to the figures. In particular, FIG. 1illustrates a schematic diagram of an example virtual realitytransportation environment 100 for implementing a virtual realitytransportation system in accordance with one or more embodiments. Anoverview of the virtual reality transportation system 106 and theenvironment 100 is described in relation to FIG. 1. Thereafter, a moredetailed description of the components and processes of the virtualreality transportation system 106 is provided in relation to thesubsequent figures.

As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual reality transportation environment 100includes a vehicle subsystem 102. The vehicle subsystem 102 includes asensor suite 103 and is associated with a driver 104. In someembodiments, the vehicle subsystem 102 represents an autonomoustransportation vehicle.

As used herein, a “vehicle subsystem” refers to a number of componentswithin a vehicle system that operates within the virtual realitytransportation environment 100. For example, a vehicle subsystem caninclude, as mentioned above, a sensor suite 103. The sensor suite caninclude, but is not limited to a LIDAR sensor, an IMU (e.g., includingan accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer) or a wireless IMU(“WIMU”), a GPS device, one or cameras, and/or one or more microphones.A vehicle subsystem may also refer to an autonomous vehicle that isself-operational—i.e., the autonomous transportation vehicle requires nohuman operator to navigate a travel route to transport a passenger, butinstead navigates by way of computer operation based on sensory readingstaken by the sensor suite 103.

The environment 100 also includes a driver 104 associated with thevehicle subsystem 102, as mentioned above. The term “driver” as usedherein refers to an individual person who operates the transportationvehicle of the vehicle subsystem 102. Alternatively, as mentioned above,the virtual reality transportation environment 100 may not include adriver 104, but instead the vehicle subsystem 102 may be an autonomousvehicle system—i.e., a self-driving transportation vehicle that includescomputer components and accompanying sensors requisite for drivingwithout manual driver input from a human operator (or with minimalmanual driver input from a human operator).

In addition to the vehicle subsystem 102, the virtual realitytransportation environment 100 also includes the virtual realitytransportation system 106, a network 110, and one or more passengerclient devices 112 a-112 n (referred to herein collectively as“passenger client devices 112”), each associated with passengers 116a-116 n (referred to herein collectively as “passengers 116”). As usedherein, a passenger (e.g., passenger 116 a) refers to an individual orgroup of individuals who has requested a ride from the virtual realitytransportation system 106 and/or who rides in the transportation vehicleof the vehicle subsystem 102. A passenger may refer to an individual whohas requested a ride but who is still waiting for pickup. A passengermay additionally or alternatively refer to an individual who has alreadybeen picked up and who is currently riding within the vehicle subsystem102 on the way to a desired destination (e.g., a destination indicatedby the passenger 116 a).

Additionally, a passenger client device (e.g., passenger client device112 a) may refer to a mobile device such as, for example, a smartphoneor tablet associated with a passenger (e.g., passenger 116 a). Forexample, the passenger 116 a may interact with the passenger clientdevice 112 a by way of the virtual reality transportation application114 a installed thereon to request a transportation ride from thevirtual reality transportation system 106. The passenger 116 a mayfurther provide input by way of the virtual reality transportationapplication 114 a on the passenger client device 112 a to select aparticular location (e.g., a place on a nearby sidewalk) for pickup, toindicate a desired destination, and/or to indicate a particular locationfor drop-off at or near the destination.

A passenger client device may also (or alternatively) refer to a virtualreality device associated with a passenger (e.g., passenger 116 a). Forexample, the passenger client device 112 a may include a wearablevirtual reality device such as OCULUS RIFT, SAMSUNG GEAR VR, HTC VIVE,or other virtual reality device that the passenger 116 a can wear. Asanother example, the passenger client device 112 a may include a virtualreality device that is built in to the vehicle subsystem 102 such as awindshield and/or one or more windows that display a virtual realityenvironment to the passenger 104. In particular, the passenger clientdevice 112 a may be capable of rendering and displaying athree-dimensional virtual reality environment including virtualobjects/elements.

As used herein, the virtual reality transportation application (e.g.,virtual reality transportation application 114 a) refers to anapplication in the form of hardware, software, or both installed on thepassenger client devices 112 and/or installed as part of the vehiclesubsystem 102. In addition, a virtual reality transportation applicationcan include one or more user options that enable a passenger 116 a tointeract (e.g., select, tap, touch, click, etc.) to provide inputinformation to request a transportation ride, accept a request for aride, and perform other necessary tasks to organize a ride between apassenger 116 a and a vehicle subsystem 102.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the virtual reality transportationapplication can also include functionality related to virtual reality.In particular, the virtual reality transportation application 114 ainstalled on the passenger client device 112 a may be able tocommunicate with the virtual reality transportation system 106 toreceive information related a virtual reality environment, and may beable to render the virtual reality environment for display to thepassenger 116 a. For example, the passenger client device 112 a, by wayof the virtual reality transportation application 114 a, may render anddisplay a virtual reality environment of a river scene or a sensory viewof the surroundings of the vehicle subsystem 102, as described above.

As shown by the virtual reality transportation environment 100 of FIG.1, the virtual reality transportation system 106 communicates with thevehicle subsystem 102 and/or the passenger client devices 112 by way ofthe network 110. For example, the network 110 facilitates transmissionof data packets to relay information between the virtual realitytransportation system 106, the vehicle subsystem 102, and/or thepassenger client devices 112. To illustrate, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may access GPS location information or otherinformation from the vehicle subsystem 102 and/or one or more of thepassenger client devices 112. In some embodiments, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may access other geo-location information suchas satellite triangulation information, ground-based radio-navigationinformation, etc.

In addition, the vehicle subsystem 102 and/or the passenger clientdevices 112 communicate with the virtual reality transportation system106 to provide GPS coordinates, traffic information, pickup requestinformation, travel route information, etc. to the virtual realitytransportation system 106. For example, the passenger client device 112a transmits a GPS coordinate of the passenger 116 a upon detecting thatthe passenger 116 a requests a pickup from the virtual realitytransportation system 106. In addition, when the passenger 116 aindicates a desired pickup location, a desired destination, and/or adesired drop-off location, the passenger client device 112 a alsotransmits the corresponding information to the virtual realitytransportation system 106 via an appropriate communication protocol.

As used herein, a desired destination refers to an end destination for atravel route that a passenger requests or takes in a transportationvehicle (e.g., the transportation vehicle of the vehicle subsystem 102).That is to say, a desired destination refers to a place or locale towhich the passenger desires to be transported within the transportationvehicle. In particular, a desired destination can include, but is notlimited to, a restaurant, a place of business, a park, a street address,a tourist attraction, or a landmark.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the virtual reality transportation system 106communicates with the vehicle subsystem 102 and the passenger clientdevices 112 to build a database of historical information. Inparticular, the virtual reality transportation system 106 stores thehistorical information gathered from the vehicle subsystem 102 and thepassenger client devices 112 within route database 108. For instance,the virtual reality transportation system 106 stores historical sensorydata collected by the sensor suite 103 of the vehicle subsystem 102 aswell as by other vehicle subsystems associated with the virtual realitytransportation system 106.

To illustrate, the virtual reality transportation system 106 maintainsconstant records of each ride associated with the vehicle subsystem 102(and all other vehicle subsystems associated therewith). In particular,the virtual reality transportation system 106 maintains historicalsensory data within the route database 108 by compartmentalizing variousdata as associated with a particular passenger (e.g., passenger 116 a),with a particular vehicle subsystem (e.g., vehicle subsystem 102),and/or with a particular travel route. To illustrate, the virtualreality transportation system 106 records each passenger location,driver location, pickup route, drop-off route, the time of day andduration for navigating each route for the driver 104 as well as thepassenger 116 a, and other information associated with each ride requestthat the virtual reality transportation system 106 receives from apassenger. The virtual reality transportation system 106 keeps recordsof each route associated with each transportation vehicle within eachvehicle subsystem associated with the virtual reality transportationsystem 106. Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation system 106maintains historical information across all vehicle subsystems and allpassengers (e.g., passengers 116) associated with the virtual realitytransportation system 106 within the route database 108.

Furthermore, the virtual reality transportation system 106 maintainshistorical sensory information for each travel route navigated by atransportation vehicle associated with the virtual realitytransportation system 106. To illustrate, as a transportation vehicle(e.g., transportation vehicle 102) navigates a travel route, the sensorsuite 103 gathers sensory data related to inertial forces (e.g.,G-forces, specific force, angular rate, etc.) throughout the duration ofthe travel route. The virtual reality transportation system 106organizes the sensory data for each route according to one or more of alocation (e.g., a GPS location) associated with each inertial force, amaneuver associated with each inertial force, and/or a time (e.g., atime of day or a time interval since the start of the travel route)associated with each inertial force.

As used herein, a travel route refers to a route or path that atransportation vehicle can navigate to transport a passenger to adestination. Particularly, a travel route can include a series ofmaneuvers including, but not necessarily limited to, continuing straightfor a certain specified distance, turning right or left, merging,stopping, yielding, crossing the street, etc. In addition, the virtualreality transportation system 106 can analyze historical sensory datafor the travel route along each maneuver to building an inertial map ofthe travel route.

As mentioned, FIG. 1 illustrates a virtual reality transportationenvironment 100 wherein the virtual reality transportation system 106communicates with passenger client device 112 and the vehicle subsystem102 to organize and facilitate rides for passengers 116. For example, insome cases, the virtual reality transportation system organizes a rideshare where more than one passenger (e.g., passenger 116 a and passenger116 b) each request pickup from the virtual reality transportationsystem in a similar time frame and/or similar location as one another oralong a similar navigation route. The virtual reality transportationsystem may determine a vehicle subsystem 102 relevant to bothpassengers. The virtual reality transportation system 106 then schedulespickup for the passenger 116 a and the passenger 116 b, one after theother, to send the transportation vehicle of the vehicle subsystem 102to pick each passenger up in turn, and further to drop each passengeroff in turn at or near desired destinations indicated by each passenger116 a and 116 b.

Furthermore, the virtual reality transportation system 106 communicates(e.g., by way of network 110) with the vehicle subsystem 102 and thepassenger client devices 112 to provide a virtual reality experience. Toillustrate, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generates andprovides a three-dimensional virtual environment composed ofcomputer-generated objects and textures to enable the passenger clientdevice 112 a to render the three-dimensional virtual reality environmentfor display to the passenger 116 a. In some embodiments, the virtualreality transportation system 106 provides timing and/or locationinformation to the passenger client device 112 a so that the passengerclient device 112 a can generate and provide a virtual realityenvironment for display to the passenger 116 a.

In addition, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generatesvirtual interactions as part of the virtual reality experience so that,when the passenger client device 112 a displays the virtual realityenvironment to the passenger 116 a, the passenger 116 a experiencesvirtual inertial forces that correspond to actual inertial forces thatthe passenger 116 a experiences while riding in the transportationvehicle.

As used herein, a virtual interaction (e.g., a virtual inertialinteraction) refers to an action or event that occurs within a virtualreality experience (e.g., movement of a virtual object within a virtualreality environment, collision with a virtual object within a virtualreality environment, etc.) to create a virtual inertial force. Thevirtual inertial force corresponds to an actual inertial force that thepassenger 116 a experiences in real life while riding in thetransportation vehicle. Generally, a virtual inertial interaction occurswithin a virtual reality experience at a specific time along a travelroute and/or at a particular location. For instance, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 predicts GPS locations or timing along aparticular travel route where the passenger 116 a will experienceinertial forces (e.g., based on the historical sensory data) andgenerates virtual interactions for those locations and/or times as partof the virtual reality experience.

Additionally, a virtual interaction can refer to a virtual sensoryinteraction such as a virtual olfactory (e.g., smell) interaction, avirtual somatosensory (e.g., touch) interaction, or a virtual auditory(e.g., hearing) interaction. To illustrate, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 can communicate with the vehicle subsystem 102by way of network 110 to integrate features of the vehicle subsystem 102as part of the virtual reality transportation experience. For instance,the vehicle subsystem 102 can include water misters, scent distributors,speakers, etc. The virtual reality transportation system 106 canindicate to the vehicle subsystem 102 to distribute a pine scent withinthe transportation vehicle at a location where the virtual realitytransportation system 106 identifies a forest of pine trees along atravel route. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may indicate to the vehicle subsystem 102 tospray a water mister at a location where the virtual realitytransportation system 106 identifies a nearby river or ocean along atravel route. Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation system 106can incorporate the vehicle subsystem 102 as well as the passengerclient devices 112 to generate and provide the virtual realitytransportation experience. Additional detail regarding generating andproviding virtual reality experience, including the virtual environment,objects, interactions, etc. is provided below with reference to FIGS.2-7.

As used herein, a virtual reality experience refers to athree-dimensional, immersive, computer-generated virtual realityenvironment that includes virtual interactions to presentation to thepassenger 116 a. Generally, a virtual reality experience refers to apresentation of the virtual reality environment for the duration of atravel route as the passenger 116 a rides within the transportationvehicle to a desired destination.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the virtual reality transportation system 106,the vehicle subsystem 102, and the passenger client devices 112 maydirectly communicate with each other, bypassing network 110. Forexample, the virtual reality transportation system 106 may communicatedirectly with the vehicle subsystem 102, or indirectly via network 110,to receive location information and other driver-related information asmentioned above and described in further detail below. Furthermore, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 may communicate directly withpassenger client devices 112, or indirectly via network 110, to receivepassenger location information, route destination information, or otherpassenger related information, as mentioned above and described infurther detail below.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates the virtual reality transportation system106 as separate and distinct from the passenger client devices 112 andthe vehicle subsystem 102, in some embodiments, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may include one or more of the passengerclient devices 112 and may additionally or alternatively include all orpart of the vehicle sub system 102.

As will be described in further detail below with reference to FIGS.2-7, the components of the virtual reality transportation environment100 or the virtual reality transportation system 106 can collecthistorical sensory data and provide a virtual reality experience to apassenger during navigation of a travel route.

Although much of the discussion provided herein is primarily directed tocreating and providing a virtual reality experience, it will beunderstood based on this disclosure that the virtual realitytransportation system 106 accesses previously-created historical datarelated to various routes navigated by passengers and drivers alike. Inparticular, in these or other embodiments, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 collects (e.g., gathers) historical sensorydata related to previous routes traveled by the vehicle subsystem 102 orother vehicle subsystem associated with the virtual realitytransportation system 106.

FIG. 2 illustrates a sequence 200 of a series of acts performed by thevehicle subsystem 102, the virtual reality transportation system 106,and/or the passenger client device 112 a. While FIG. 2 illustrates asingle passenger client device 112 a, it will be understood from thisdisclosure that additional or alternative passenger client devices 112may also perform the acts described in relation to FIG. 2. Furthermore,while FIG. 2 illustrates a particular order or sequence for the actsdepicted therein, the acts may be performed in an alternative order andmay further include additional or alternative acts as well.

As illustrated by sequence 200 of FIG. 2, the vehicle subsystem provideslocation information to the virtual reality transportation system 106,as depicted by act 202. Initially, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 receives a request for a transportation ride from a passenger116 a by way of passenger client device 112 a. To organize thetransportation ride, the virtual reality transportation system 106identifies and assigns the vehicle subsystem 102 as a match to pick upand transport the passenger 116 a. Upon the virtual realitytransportation system 106 assigning the vehicle subsystem 102 to pick upthe passenger 116 a, the vehicle subsystem 102 communicates with thevirtual reality transportation system 106 by way of network 110 toprovide a GPS coordinate location of the vehicle subsystem 102.Additionally or alternatively, the vehicle subsystem communicates withthe virtual reality transportation system 106 to provide a GPScoordinate or other location information independent of whether thevirtual reality transportation system 106 assigns the vehicle subsystem102 to pick up the passenger 116 a. In some examples, the vehiclesubsystem 102 provides a street address, latitude and longitudecoordinates, a geographic hash or other predefined location identifier,and/or any other form of location information to the virtual realitytransportation system 106.

To provide the location information of act 202 to the virtual realitytransportation system 106, in some embodiments, the vehicle subsystem102 relays a GPS coordinate by way of a GPS locator device within thevehicle subsystem 102 (e.g., as part of the sensor suite 103). In theseembodiments, the vehicle subsystem 102 continuously provides a latitudeand longitude of the location of the transportation vehicle of thevehicle subsystem 102 so that the virtual reality transportation system106 can constantly monitor the changing location of the transportationvehicle. For example, when the vehicle subsystem 102 is moving (e.g., asthe driver 104 drives the transportation vehicle or else as thetransportation vehicle drives itself in the case of an autonomoustransportation vehicle), the virtual reality system 106 receivesperiodic updates (e.g., every half second, every second, etc.) of theGPS location of the vehicle subsystem 102 to monitor and track changesin location.

In addition to location information, the vehicle subsystem 102 mayfurther provide information relating to speed, direction of travel,total distance traveled, total time spent traveling, and otherinformation relating to the vehicle subsystem 102. In particular, thevehicle subsystem 102 may collect these sensory data as well as sensorydata relating to inertial forces by way of the sensor suite 103, asdescribed above. For example, the sensor suite 103 includes anaccelerometer by which to determine a speed and direction of the vehiclesubsystem 102. In other examples, the sensor suite 103 includes an IMUby which an on-board computing device can determine the specific forceof the vehicle subsystem 102 at any point along a travel route. In anycase, in these or other embodiments, the vehicle subsystem 102 providesinformation such as inertial force data, speed, direction, distancetraveled, and travel time to the virtual reality transportation system106.

As also illustrated in FIG. 2, the passenger client device 112 aprovides location information to the virtual reality transportationsystem 106, as illustrated by act 204. Similar to how the vehiclesubsystem 102 provides location information to the virtual realitytransportation system 106, the passenger client device 112 a alsoincludes a GPS locator device, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, amagnetometer, and/or other sensory devices by which the passenger clientdevice 112 a determines a location (e.g., GPS coordinates), speed oftravel, direction of travel, etc., of the passenger 116 a. In turn, thepassenger client device 112 a relays the location information and othersensory information to the virtual reality transportation system 106(e.g., by way of network 110), as depicted by act 204 of FIG. 2.

In response to receiving the location information (and any additionalsensory information) from the vehicle subsystem 102 and/or the passengerclient device 112 a, the virtual reality transportation system 106determines a travel route to transport the passenger 116 a to aparticular destination (e.g., indicated by the passenger 116 a by way ofthe passenger client device 112 a), as shown by act 206 of FIG. 2. Inparticular, the virtual reality transportation system 106 identifies thelocation of the passenger 116 a and analyzes historical informationrelating to past travel routes (e.g., stored within route database 108)as well as current information relating to traffic to determine an idealroute to navigate to the passenger's desired destination.

Continuing with sequence 200 of FIG. 2, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 further analyzes historical sensory dataassociated with the determined travel route, as illustrated by act 208.In particular, the virtual reality transportation system 106 accesseshistorical sensory data stored in the route database 108—i.e., thehistorical sensory data relating to inertial forces and othermotion-related information that the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 gathers from previous travel routes. In addition to analyzinghistorical sensory data associated with the travel route, in someembodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106 analyzeshistorical sensory data associated with a driver profile, a type ofvehicle, a time of day, etc. For instance, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may access historical sensory data stored fora particular driver. In any case, by analyzing the historical sensorydata and other historical information (e.g., historical trafficinformation), the virtual reality transportation system 106 can predictinertial forces that the passenger 116 a will experience while ridingwith the vehicle subsystem 102 along the determined travel route.

As mentioned, the virtual reality transportation system 106 predictsinertial forces, as illustrated by act 210 of FIG. 2. In particular, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 identifies each maneuver alongthe travel route and, based on previous performances of vehiclesubsystems in the past, predicts the speed at which the vehiclesubsystem 102 will perform each maneuver along the route and alsopredicts the timing of each maneuver as well as the total time fornavigating the travel route. The virtual reality transportation system106 additionally predicts the inertial forces that the passenger 116 awill experience throughout the travel route by assigning each predictedinertial force to a particular location (or timing) within the travelroute. For instance, a given inertial force may correspond with a givenmaneuver such as a right-hand turn.

In more detail, the virtual reality transportation system 106 maypredict inertial forces on a more micro scale. In other words, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 may store, within routedatabase 108, historical sensory data relating to potholes, speedbumps,or other road features (e.g., washboard bumps, gravel roads, lots ofhills) of each travel route that a vehicle subsystem of the virtualreality transportation system 106 travels. By using this historicalsensory data, the virtual reality transportation system 106 predictsmore detailed inertial forces that the passenger 116 a will experiencealong the travel route, including bumps and vibrations that are theresult of road features such as potholes or speedbumps.

Sequence 200 of FIG. 2 further illustrates act 212, depicting that thevirtual reality transportation system 106 generates a virtual realityexperience. In particular, the virtual reality transportation system 106generates a virtual reality experience based on the predicted inertialforces of the travel route. That is to say, for each predicted inertialforce that the passenger 116 a will experience while riding with thevehicle subsystem 102, the virtual reality transportation system 106generates a virtual inertial interaction. In addition to the virtualinertial interactions, the virtual reality transportation system 106further generates a virtual reality environment in which the virtualinertial interactions take place.

To illustrate, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generatesor provides instructions to the passenger client device 112 a togenerate a three-dimensional virtual environment depicting a riverrafting scene, a view of outer space, or other suitable virtual realityenvironment. The virtual reality transportation system 106 generatesvarious virtual inertial interactions such as, for example, a collisionwith a spaceship or a sharp turn in the current of the river.Additionally, the virtual reality transportation system 106 coordinatesthe timing and/or placement of the virtual inertial interactions withinthe virtual reality experience so that the virtual inertial interactionscoincide with predicted inertial forces that the passenger 116 aexperiences during the ride. Therefore, the passenger 116 a perceivesthe collision of the spaceship or the turn of the river occur within thevirtual reality environment, and has the impression that the collisionor the turn cause, for example, a stopping or turning motion of thevehicle subsystem 102 that occurs in real life.

In some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106further communicates with the vehicle subsystem 102 to integrate thevehicle subsystem 102 as part of the virtual reality experience. Asdescribed above, the virtual reality transportation system 106 indicatesto the vehicle subsystem 102 to spray a water mister in a situationwhere, for example, the river raft that the passenger 116 a perceptiblyrides in within the virtual reality environment hits a section ofrapids. Additionally or alternatively, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 communicates with the vehicle subsystem 102and/or the passenger client device 112 a to provide audio interactionsas part of the virtual reality transportation experience. For instance,where the virtual reality transportation system 106 predicts a loudsection of inner-city traffic, the virtual reality experience mayinclude a scene of a loud marketplace on an alien planet to coincide.Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation system 106 may provideaudio by way of the passenger client device 112 a and/or the vehiclesubsystem 102 (e.g., via speakers therein).

As further illustrated in FIG. 2, the sequence 200 includes an act 214that shows that the virtual reality transportation system 106 providesthe virtual reality experience to the passenger client device 112 a. Forinstance, the virtual reality transportation system 106 communicateswith the passenger client device 112 a via network 110 to transmit theinformation necessary to present the virtual reality experience to thepassenger 116 a.

In some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106generates a template virtual reality experience and provides thetemplate to the passenger client device 112 a. To elaborate, the virtualreality transportation system 106 creates a virtual reality experiencewith various virtual inertial interactions independent of historicalsensory data, timing, or other information. Then, based on the analyzedhistorical sensory data, the virtual reality transportation system 106provides information to the passenger client device 112 a to modify thetemplate virtual reality experience so that the virtual inertialinteractions occur at a time synchronous with the predicted inertialforces of the travel route. Additionally, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 provides information to modify the templatevirtual reality experience to adjust for turns in the travel route,travel time for each maneuver along the route, etc.

In response to receiving the virtual reality experience from the virtualreality transportation system 106, the passenger client device 112 apresents the virtual reality experience to the passenger 116 a, asillustrated by act 216 of FIG. 2. In particular, the passenger clientdevice 112 a presents a display within a headset device or other devicecapable of rendering a three-dimensional representation of the virtualreality environment as part of the virtual reality experience. Thus, asthe passenger 116 a watches the virtual reality experience through thepassenger client device 112 a, the passenger 116 a is immersed in acomputer-generated three-dimensional environment and experiences thevirtual inertial (and other sensory) interactions described abovethroughout the travel route.

Though not illustrated in FIG. 2, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 may further provide an option (e.g., a user-selectableelement within the virtual reality transportation application 114 a) tothe passenger 116 a to share the virtual reality experience with others.To illustrate, the passenger client device 112 a may present the virtualreality environment for display to the passenger 116 a, along with auser interface as an overlay of the virtual reality environment (e.g., aheads-up display or HUD). The user interface may include an option toshare a view of the virtual reality environment with another passenger(e.g., passenger 116 b) by way of another passenger client device (e.g.,passenger client device 112 b). Passenger 116 b may have the option toaccept or decline to view a presentation of the virtual realityenvironment. Additionally, the user interface may include other optionssuch as, for example, an option to start the virtual reality experienceand an option to stop the virtual reality experience.

In some embodiments, though also not illustrated in FIG. 2, the virtualreality transportation system 106 provides the virtual realityexperience to the vehicle subsystem 102. Additionally, in theseembodiments the vehicle subsystem 102 displays the virtual realityexperience to the passenger 116 a (and any other passengers within thevehicle subsystem 102) by way of a virtual reality device associatedwith the vehicle subsystem 102 (e.g., windshield display, screens withinthe vehicle subsystem 102, etc.)

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate a sequence 300 of acts performed by the vehiclesubsystem 102, the virtual reality transportation system 106, and/or thepassenger client device 112 a. In particular, as illustrated by FIG. 3A,the vehicle subsystem 102 provides location information to the virtualreality transportation system 106, as depicted by act 302. As discussedabove, the vehicle subsystem 102 determines a location by way of a GPSlocator device within the sensor suite 103 or elsewhere, and providesthe location information in the form of GPS coordinates, a streetaddress, or other form to the virtual reality transportation system 106.

Additionally, the passenger client device 112 a provides locationinformation to the virtual reality transportation system 106, asdepicted by act 304 of FIG. 3A. In particular, and as discussed above,the passenger client device 112 a includes a GPS device by which thepassenger client device 112 a determines a location of the passenger 116a. The passenger client device 112 a then transmits the GPS locationinformation to the virtual reality transportation system 106.

As illustrated by FIG. 3A, the virtual reality transportation system 106receives the location information from the vehicle subsystem 102 and thepassenger client device 112 a. In response to receiving the locationinformation, the virtual reality transportation system 106 determines atravel route, as depicted by act 306 within sequence 300. Similar to thediscussion of FIG. 2, the virtual reality transportation system 106determines the travel route based on historical information relating toprevious travel routes by vehicle subsystems in the past as well ashistorical traffic information for the particular area at the particulartime of day, in addition to current traffic information as available.

Upon determining the travel route, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 analyzes the travel route to determine whether the travelroute is a new travel route—i.e., whether the virtual realitytransportation system 106 has historical sensory data associated withthe particular travel route from the past. If not, then the virtualreality transportation system 106 determines that the travel route is anew travel route, as illustrated in act 308. For instance, the virtualreality transportation system compares route information for the travelroute such as, for example, the route path along every road within theroute from the point where the vehicle subsystem 102 will meet thepassenger 116 a for pickup to the destination. If the virtual realitytransportation system 106 analyzes the travel route and determines thatno previous vehicle subsystem 102 has traveled the same route, then thevirtual reality transportation system 106 identifies the travel route asa new travel route. Indeed, in some cases the virtual realitytransportation system 106 determines that the travel route is composedof various sections of road along the path that have been previouslytraveled and logged within the route database 108, but that the entireroute from start to finish is not the same as any single previous travelroute.

Additionally or alternatively, the virtual reality transportation system106 analyzes the travel route to determine whether sensory data isincomplete for the route (e.g., the travel route is not completelymapped). In these or other embodiments, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 assigns a threshold number of sensory readingsto the travel route such that, in response to determining that thehistorical sensory data does not contain at least the threshold numberof sensory readings for the travel route, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 determines that the travel route is a newtravel route. In contrast, if the virtual reality transportation system106 determines that the historical sensory data contains at least thethreshold number of sensory readings, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 determines that the route is not a new travel route.

Furthermore, in the same or other embodiments, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 considers various factors in determiningwhether the travel route is a new travel route. For example, the virtualreality transportation system 106 may segment the historical sensorydata based on weather or other conditions. To elaborate, the virtualreality transportation system 106 determines whether the historicalsensory data includes sensory readings for the travel road under thesame road conditions. For instance, if the road is currently wet due toinclement weather, the virtual reality transportation system 106 maydetermine that, while the historical sensory data contains sensoryreadings for the travel route under dry conditions, the historicalsensory data does not contain sensory readings for the travel routeunder wet conditions, and that, therefore, the travel is a new travelroute under the current conditions. Additional or alternative factorsthat the virtual reality transportation system 106 may consider include,but are not necessarily limited to, time of day, road construction, timeof year (e.g., season), traffic conditions, etc.

In response to determining that the travel route is a new travel route,the virtual reality transportation system 106 provides an indication tothe vehicle subsystem 102 to take sensory readings, as illustrated byact 310 of FIG. 3A. In particular, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 provides a notification to the vehicle subsystem 102 that thetravel route is a new travel route and that the route database 108 doesnot include sufficient historical sensory data relating to the travelroute.

Accordingly, the vehicle subsystem 102 receives the indication from thevirtual reality transportation system 106 to take sensory readings. Asseen in act 312 of FIG. 3A, the vehicle subsystem 102 takes sensoryreadings along the travel route to provide to the virtual realitytransportation system 106. For instance, as described above, the vehiclesubsystem 102 identifies a location of each maneuver along the travelroute and takes readings by way of the sensor suite to determineinertial forces that result from each maneuver, as well as that resultfrom road features such as potholes, speedbumps, etc.

The vehicle subsystem 102 provides the sensory reading information(e.g., the sensory data) to the virtual reality transportation system106. By providing the sensory data, the vehicle subsystem 102 providesthe information necessary for the virtual reality transportation system106 to record historical sensory data for the particular new travelroute. Additionally, in some embodiments, other ride information and/ormetadata may be tracked and provided along with the sensory dataincluding road conditions, weather, traffic levels, time, number ofpassengers, passenger identifier, and/or any other suitable informationor conditions specific to the recorded sensory data that may affect theaccuracy of the inertial forces on future passengers during futurerides.

Furthermore, the virtual reality transportation system 106 adds thesensory reading information (e.g., the sensory data) received from thevehicle subsystem 102 to the historical sensory database (e.g., theroute database 108), as illustrated by act 316 of FIG. 3A. The virtualreality transportation system 106 creates an entry for the new travelroute within the route database 108 and records sensory data for the newtravel route as described above.

In addition to adding the sensory data to the route database 108, FIG.3A illustrates that the virtual reality transportation system 106identifies a substitute travel route similar to the new travel route, asdepicted by act 318. In particular, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 accesses the route database 108 and analyzes the roads andthe maneuvers of each travel route to identify a previous travel routewithin the route database 108 that shares similar traits with the newtravel route. For example, the virtual reality transportation system 106identifies a travel route from another country that has similarmaneuvers that occur at similar locations/timing along the previoustravel route to the new the maneuvers of the new travel route.

To illustrate, the virtual reality transportation system 106 analyzesthe new travel route to identify each maneuver and measure each portionof the travel route. Based on the analysis of the new travel route, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 analyzes the historicalinformation stored within the route database 108 to identify anothertravel route therein that is within a threshold similarity of the newtravel route. In some cases, a threshold similarity refers to a ratingscale (e.g., from one to ten, zero to one hundred, etc.) or a comparisonagainst other travel routes within the route database 108. Accordingly,in some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106 mayanalyze each previous travel route as a whole and compare each previoustravel route with the new travel route to determine whether themaneuvers of the previous travel route and the maneuvers of the newtravel route are within a threshold distance of each other. In addition,the virtual reality transportation system 106 determines whether theprevious travel routes and the new travel route are within a thresholddistance from start to finish, are within an expected total transittime, etc. By comparing the maneuvers and other route traits (e.g.,distance, timing, etc.), the virtual reality transportation system 106determines which previous travel routes are within a thresholdsimilarity of the new travel route (e.g., an 85% match or greater) andidentifies one of the previous travel routes that is the most similar(e.g., a 95% match) as a substitute travel route.

Though not illustrated in FIG. 3A, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 may, in some embodiments, cobble historical sensory datatogether instead of, or in addition to, identifying a substitute travelroute. For instance, the route database 108 may contain historicalsensory data from multiple previous travel routes that include portionstherein that coincide with portions of the new travel route. In thesecases, the virtual reality transportation system 106 recognizes theshared portions between the new travel route and previous travel routesand utilizes the historical sensory data associated with the sharedportions to predict inertial forces of the new travel route. By takinghistorical sensory data from pieces of multiple previous travel routesand assembling them to represent the new travel route, the virtualreality transportation system 106 constructs an inertial model of theforces that the passenger 116 a will experience while traveling with thevehicle subsystem 102 along the new travel route.

Continuing the sequence 300 to FIG. 3B, the sequence 300 furtherincludes an act 320 which illustrates that the virtual realitytransportation system 106 analyzes the historical sensory dataassociated with the substitute travel route. Similar to the discussionof FIG. 2 where the virtual reality transportation system 106 analyzesthe historical sensory data for the travel route, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 analyzes the historical sensory data withinthe route database 108 associated with the substitute travel route. Toillustrate, since the substitute travel route is within a thresholdsimilarity of the new travel route, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 substitutes the historical sensory data relating to inertialforces, speeds, etc., for the substitute travel and attributes the datato the new travel route to predict inertial forces that the passenger116 a will experience while riding in the vehicle subsystem 102. Thus,the virtual reality transportation system 106 is more efficient thansome conventional systems. In other words, because the virtual realitytransportation system 106 can substitute sensory data between routesassociated with the virtual reality transportation system 106, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 thereby alleviates the datastorage and processing burden of sensing and storing inertial forces foreach route associated with the virtual reality transportation system106.

As mentioned, and as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 predicts inertial forces for the new travelroute based on the inertial forces of the substitute travel route, asdepicted by act 322. In particular, act 322 may include the virtualreality transportation system 106 using the exact inertial forces of thesubstitute travel route. In other cases, however, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 identifies those differences (whether they aresubtle or more pronounced) between the substitute travel route and thenew travel route and compensates for those differences. For instance, tocompensate for differences between the substitute travel route and thenew travel route, the virtual reality transportation system 106determines, based on the analysis of the historical sensory data, how asharper turn, a longer straight stretch, denser traffic, etc. affectsinertial forces. Then, the virtual reality transportation system 106adjusts the predictions of the inertial forces for the new travel routeaccordingly. Thus, in cases where the new travel route has a sharperturn in one place than does the substitute travel route, the virtualreality transportation system 106 predicts a greater inertial force thatwill act upon the passenger 116 a.

In any case, the virtual reality transportation system 106 predicts theinertial forces for the new travel route based on the inertial forces ofthe substitute travel route to at least generate an inertial map that isa close approximation of the actual inertial forces that the passenger116 a will experience while riding with the vehicle subsystem 102 alongthe travel route.

Additionally, similar to the discussion provided above with reference toFIG. 2, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generates avirtual reality experience, as illustrated by act 324 of FIG. 3B. Inparticular, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generates thevirtual reality experience to include virtual inertial interactionsbased on the predicted inertial forces for the new travel route. Asdescribed above, the virtual inertial interactions coincide withpredicted inertial forces along the new travel route to give thepassenger 116 a the impression that the virtual inertial interactionscause any actual inertial forces that the passenger 116 a experiences.

As further illustrated by act 326 of FIG. 3B, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 provides the virtual reality experience to thepassenger client device 112 a. For example, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 provides a three-dimensional virtual realityenvironment including virtual inertial interactions where virtualobjects or virtual motions appear to cause any actual inertial forces.Accordingly, the passenger client device 112 a presents the virtualreality experience to the passenger (e.g., by way of a headset or screendisplay), as illustrated by act 328 of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4 illustrates a sequence 400 of acts performed by the vehiclesubsystem 102, the virtual reality transportation system 106, and/or thepassenger client device 112 a. In particular, as illustrated by FIG. 4,the vehicle subsystem 102 provides location information to the virtualreality transportation system 106, as depicted by act 402. As discussedabove, the vehicle subsystem 102 determines a location by way of a GPSlocator device within the sensor suite 103 or elsewhere, and providesthe location information in the form of GPS coordinates, a streetaddress, or other form to the virtual reality transportation system 106.

Additionally, the passenger client device 112 a provides locationinformation to the virtual reality transportation system 106, asdepicted by act 404 of FIG. 4. In particular, and as discussed above,the passenger client device 112 a includes a GPS device by which thepassenger client device 112 a determines a location of the passenger 116a. The passenger client device 112 a then transmits the GPS locationinformation to the virtual reality transportation system 106.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, the virtual reality transportation system 106receives the location information from the vehicle subsystem 102 and thepassenger client device 112 a. In addition to providing the locationinformation to the virtual reality transportation system 106, thevehicle subsystem 102 gathers sensory data for the environmentsurrounding the vehicle subsystem 102, as depicted by act 406 of FIG. 4.In other words, the vehicle subsystem takes sensory reading via thesensor suite 103. By taking sensory readings, the vehicle subsystem 102maps the environment or area surrounding the vehicle subsystem 102. Forinstance, by using a LIDAR sensor, the vehicle subsystem 102 identifiesobjects (e.g., buildings, people, roads, sidewalks, road signs, etc.)within certain radius of the vehicle subsystem 102.

Not only does the vehicle subsystem 102 gather sensory data for thesurrounding environment, but in the case where the vehicle subsystem 102is an autonomous vehicle, the vehicle subsystem 102 also generates asensory map of the environment to guide an onboard computer navigationsystem through navigation of the travel route. In particular, thevehicle subsystem 102 can self-drive the travel route based on thegenerated sensory map that the vehicle subsystem creates from thesensory data.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the vehicle subsystem 102 further provides thesensory data (e.g., the sensory readings relating to the identifiedobjects within the surrounding environment and/or the generated sensorymap) to the virtual reality transportation system 106, as shown by act408. Indeed, as described above, the vehicle subsystem 102 communicateswith the virtual reality transportation system 106 to transfer orotherwise transmit the sensory data (e.g., by way of network 110).

While in some embodiments the vehicle subsystem 102 analyzes the sensorydata to generate a sensory map and identify objects in the surroundingarea, in other embodiments the vehicle subsystem 102 does not analyzethe sensory data. Instead, the vehicle subsystem 102 gathers the sensorydata (act 406) and provides the sensory data (act 408) to the virtualreality transportation system 106 for later analysis by the virtualreality transportation system 106.

In response to receiving the sensory data, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 analyzes the sensory data, as shown by act 410of FIG. 4. More specifically, the virtual reality transportation system106 analyzes the sensory data to generate a sensory environment map ofthe area surrounding the vehicle subsystem 102. Particularly, as shownin act 412 of FIG. 4, the virtual reality transportation system 106analyzes the environment surrounding the vehicle subsystem 102 toidentify objects in the surrounding environment, as described above. Forexample, the virtual reality transportation system 106 identifiesbuildings, people, roads, sidewalks, road signs, etc., within thesurrounding environment and determines that some identified objects arenavigable (e.g., roads) and some identified objects are barriers (e.g.,buildings, etc.). Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation system106 generates a sensory map to guide the vehicle subsystem 102 throughnavigation of the travel route.

In addition, the virtual reality transportation system 106 determines orgenerates a sensory view for the surrounding environment, as depicted byact 414 of FIG. 4. Specifically, based on the sensory map, the virtualreality transportation system 106 generates a three-dimensional virtualrendition of each object within the sensory data that the vehiclesubsystem 102 identifies by way of the sensor suite 103. The sensoryview generally refers to a depiction of each object within the areasurrounding the vehicle subsystem 102 and portrays the objects (e.g.,buildings, people, roads, etc.) within the surrounding area as thesensor suite 103 would “see” them—i.e., as sensory readings.

As illustrated by act 416 in FIG. 4, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 generates a virtual sensory environment. In particular, basedon the sensory view, the virtual reality transportation system 106generates a three-dimensional, immersive virtual reality environment forpresentation to the passenger 116 a. To illustrate, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 generates a three-dimensional depiction of theenvironment surrounding the vehicle subsystem 102 based on the sensoryreadings of the sensor suite 103, where the three-dimensional depictionportrays the environment as sensory readings. Additionally, the virtualreality transportation system 106 generates three-dimensional virtualobjects at places within the virtual reality environment that arecommensurate with the location of buildings, roads, people, etc., withinthe real world. Accordingly, the virtual reality transportation system106 generates a virtual sensory environment that includes athree-dimensional sensory-based depiction of the vehicle subsystem's 102surroundings.

The virtual reality transportation system 106 further provides thevirtual sensory environment to the passenger client device 112 a, asshown by act 418 of FIG. 4. In particular, as described above withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3A-3B, the virtual reality transportationsystem 106 communicates with the passenger client device 112 a by way ofnetwork 110 to transmit the virtual sensory environment (including thesensory views of the objects therein) to the passenger client device 112a. In some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106may not generate the virtual sensory environment as described above, butmay instead provide instructions to the passenger client device 112 a togenerate the virtual sensory environment in accordance with the abovedescription.

In response to receiving the virtual sensory environment as shown inFIG. 4, the passenger client device 112 a presents the virtual sensoryenvironment to the passenger 116 a. For instance, the passenger clientdevice 112 a presents a display of the virtual sensory environment tothe passenger 116 a by way of a headset or other display screen.Accordingly, the passenger 116 a views the virtual sensory environmentin an immersive experience where the passenger 116 a sees the areasurrounding the vehicle subsystem 102 just as the vehicle subsystem 102itself “sees” the area by way of its sensor suite 103. Additional detailregarding the presentation and appearance of the virtual sensoryenvironment as well as the virtual reality environment described aboveis provided below with reference to FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 5 illustrates a virtual reality environment 500 from theperspective of the passenger 116 a (e.g., as the passenger 116 a viewsthrough the passenger client device 112 a). In particular, the virtualreality environment 500 includes virtual objects within a virtualsetting of a river scene. The environment 500 of FIG. 5 further includesa representation of one or more virtual interactions that the passenger116 a will experience as the virtual reality environment 500 progressesthrough the experience as the vehicle subsystem 102 navigates the travelroute. To illustrate from FIG. 5, the environment 500 includes a boat502, a section of the river with a fast current 504, a fallen tree 506,and a section of river with a slow current 508.

As shown in FIG. 5, the environment 500 includes a boat 502. Inparticular, the boat 502 is a virtual representation of thetransportation vehicle of the vehicle subsystem 102 that the passenger116 a rides in while watching the virtual reality environment 500. Asthe vehicle subsystem 102 navigates along the travel route, the boat 502floats down the river. Furthermore, as described above, the river mayinclude turns, smooth sections, bumpy sections, etc., to create virtualinertial interactions that coincide with predicted inertial forces thatthe passenger 116 a will experience in the real world throughout thetravel route. For example, a turn in the river may take place just asthe vehicle subsystem 102 makes a turn along the travel route, and abumpy section of water in the river may take place as the vehiclesubsystem 102 navigates a dirt or gravel road along the travel route.

As further shown in FIG. 5, the virtual reality environment 500 alsoincludes a section of fast current 504. In particular, the section offast current 504 may represent a section of the travel route where thevehicle subsystem 102 navigates along a highway or interstate, or wherethere is relatively little traffic and the driving is faster.Accordingly, as the vehicle subsystem 102 drives faster, the boat 502moves more quickly along the fast current 504 within the environment500, thus giving the passenger 116 a the impression that the feeling ofdriving fast comes from the virtual experience within the boat 502.

The virtual reality environment 500 of FIG. 5 further includes a fallentree 506. The fallen tree 506 represents a virtual inertial interactioncorresponding to a real-world inertial force caused by an object or roadtrait such as, for example, a speedbump or a pothole. To illustrate, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 predicts an inertial forcethat the passenger 116 a will experience during the travel route. Theprediction is based on historical sensory data, as described above,where previous vehicle subsystems have recording an inertial force at aparticular location along the travel route due to a speedbump, forexample. Thus, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generates avirtual inertial interaction within the virtual reality environment 500so that, when the vehicle subsystem 102 crosses the speedbump, thepassenger 116 a will experience a bumping motion that appears to be theresult of the boat 502 crossing over the fallen tree 506 in the river.

FIG. 5 also includes a section of the river with a slow current 508.Similar to the description provided above with relation to the fastcurrent 504, the virtual reality environment 500 also includes a sectionof slow current 508 to represent an event in the real world where thevehicle subsystem 102 moves slower. To illustrate, in areas where thetraffic is historically thicker or where the speed limit is slower, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 predicts that the passenger116 a will experience a slow forward motion within the vehicle subsystem102. Thus, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generates avirtual inertial interaction to represent the slower motion where, whenthe boat 502 floats down the slow current 508, the passenger 116 a hasthe impression that the slower movement of the boat 502 causes thesensation of slow forward motion that actually occurs as a result of theslower movement of the vehicle subsystem 102.

While FIG. 5 illustrates one example virtual reality environment 500, itwill be understood from the disclosure herein that various other virtualreality environments are possible to provide different virtual realityexperiences to the passenger 116 a. For instance, the virtual realitytransportation system 106 need not only provide a river scene, but mayalternatively provide a virtual rendition of a car chase scene, avirtual roller coaster ride, a virtual spaceship ride, etc.

FIG. 6 illustrates a virtual reality environment 600 of a view of outerspace. In particular, the virtual reality environment 600 of FIG. 6includes a representation of the vehicle subsystem 102 as a spaceship602 in addition to a representation of other vehicle subsystemsassociated with the virtual reality transportation system 106 asspaceships 604 a and 604 b (referred to herein collectively as“spaceships 604”). The environment 600 further includes a planet 606that represents an object within the real world such as, for example,the desired destination of the passenger 116 a.

To illustrate from FIG. 6, the spaceship 602 represents the vehiclesubsystem 102 from the perspective of the passenger 116 a as thepassenger 116 a rides in the vehicle subsystem 102 along the travelroute. As the vehicle subsystem 102 navigates the travel route, thevirtual reality transportation system 106 generates virtual inertialinteractions to coincide with the predicted inertial forces. The virtualinertial interactions of FIG. 6 may include, but are not necessarilylimited to, changes in horizontal direction of the spaceship 602,changes in vertical direction of the spaceship 602, deceleration of thespaceship 602, and/or acceleration of the spaceship 602. Each of thevirtual inertial interactions may cause the passenger 116 a to perceivethat an actual inertial force experienced along the travel route is theresult of a virtual inertial interaction of the virtual realityexperience.

As shown in FIG. 6, the virtual reality transportation system 106 mayidentify the location of other vehicle subsystems and represent thelocations of the other vehicle subsystems within the environment 600. Inparticular, as shown in environment 600 of FIG. 6, spaceships 604represent the locations of other vehicle subsystems relative to thevehicle subsystem 102. In some embodiments, spaceship 604 a may appearfarther away within the environment 600 when the corresponding vehiclesubsystem is farther away from vehicle subsystem 102 in the real world.Likewise, spaceships 604 may move within the environment 600 as thecorresponding vehicle subsystems move in real life. In certainembodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106 generatesspaceships 604 to represent other transportation vehicles when the othertransportation vehicles are within a threshold distance (e.g., radius)of the vehicle subsystem 102—i.e., as determined based on the locationinformation of each vehicle's GPS device.

In some embodiments, the virtual reality transportation system 106enables the passenger 116 a to interact with passengers of the vehiclesubsystems represented by spaceships 604. For example, the virtualreality transportation system 106 may generate a game where passenger116 a and the other passengers can shoot laser guns to tag each other.Accordingly, when another spaceship (e.g., spaceship 604 a) is withinview, the passenger 116 a can attempt to tag the spaceship 604 a with avirtual laser gun. If the passenger 116 a orientates the passengerclient device 112 a (e.g., by looking in a different direction) tocenter the spaceship 604 a within the view of the environment 600, andthen the passenger 116 a attempts to shoot the laser gun, the virtualreality transportation system 106 may determine that the passenger's 116a aim was true and score a hit for the passenger 116 a. The virtualreality transportation system 106 may keep a running tally of the numberof hits scored by the passenger 116 a throughout the navigation route oreven keep a running tally of the number of hits for a passenger accountover multiple travel routes.

FIG. 7 illustrates a top-down sensory view 700 of the surroundings ofthe vehicle subsystem 102. In particular, as shown in FIG. 7, thesensory view 700 includes an object 702 as well as a depiction ofoutward radiating lines to illustrate the sensory perception of thesensor suite 103. As described above, the sensor suite 103 may include aLIDAR sensor that scans the environment around the vehicle subsystem 102to identify objects therein. Indeed, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehiclesubsystem 102 (or the virtual reality transportation system 106, uponreceiving sensory data) analyzes the sensory data taken by the sensorsuite 103 to identify objects within the environment, such as object702.

The vehicle subsystem 102 (or the virtual reality transportation system106, as mentioned), further identifies the bounds of the road and anyother objects to avoid to, in the case of an autonomous vehiclesubsystem, facilitate self-driving. The vehicle subsystem 102 gatherssensory information to generate a sensory map of the surrounding area torecognize those areas that are navigable and those that are not.Additionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the sensory view 700 illustrates thatthe sensor suite 103 may not gather sensory information as accuratelyfrom areas obscured by objects such as object 702. In any case, thesensory view 700 of FIG. 7 is merely illustrative, and in someembodiments, the vehicle subsystem 102 and/or the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may identify objects in much greater detailand with much greater accuracy than depicted in FIG. 7.

While FIG. 7 illustrates a top-down sensory view 700, it will beunderstood from the disclosure herein that the virtual realitytransportation system 106 may provide the top-down sensory view 700 tothe passenger client device 112 a or else may provide a first-personsensory view from the perspective of the sensor suite 103. Indeed, thetop-down sensory view 700 is provided as illustrative of the sensoryreadings and the identification of objects within the environmentsurrounding the transportation vehicle 102, and not as representative ofthe only possible presentation of the sensory view.

FIGS. 1-7, the corresponding text, and the examples provide a number ofdifferent systems and methods that manage a virtual realitytransportation system. In addition to the foregoing, embodiments canalso be described in terms of flowcharts comprising acts and/or steps ina method for accomplishing a particular result. For example, FIGS. 8-9illustrate flowcharts of exemplary methods in accordance with one ormore embodiments. The methods described in relation to FIGS. 8-9 may beperformed with fewer or more steps/acts or the steps/acts may beperformed in any number of different orders or sequences. Additionally,the steps/acts described herein may be repeated or performed in parallelwith one another or in parallel with different instances of the same orother similar steps/acts.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method 800 ofproviding a three-dimensional virtual experience. For instance, themethod 800 can include an act 802 of determining a travel route. Inparticular, the act 802 can involve determining, by a processor of atransportation system, a travel route for a transportation vehicle tonavigate to deliver a passenger to a destination. Additionally, thehistorical sensory data can include a record, associated with eachtravel route previously traveled by each transportation vehicleassociated with the transportation system, of inertial forcesexperienced throughout navigation of a given travel route. Thehistorical sensory data can also include readings taken by a sensorsuite associated with each transportation vehicle during each travelroute associated with the transportation system. In some embodiments,the sensor suite can include a LIDAR sensor, as described above.

The method 800 can also include an act 804 of accessing historicalsensory data. In particular, the act 804 can involve accessing, based onthe determined travel route, historical sensory data associated with thetravel route.

The method 800 can further include an act 806 of predicting inertialforces. In particular, the act 806 can involve predicting, based on thehistorical sensory data, inertial forces that the passenger willexperience while navigating the travel route in the transportationvehicle. In some embodiments, the transportation vehicle is anautonomous transportation vehicle.

Additionally, the method 800 can include an act 808 of generating athree-dimensional virtual experience. In particular, the act 808 caninvolve generating, based on the predicted inertial forces that thepassenger will experience, a three-dimensional virtual experiencecomprising a plurality of virtual inertial interactions, each of theplurality of virtual inertial interactions corresponding to a predictedinertial force associated with the travel route. The act 808 can alsoinvolve generating, for each of the plurality of virtual inertialinteractions, a virtual object that appears, by observation through thevirtual reality device, to collide with the passenger. Additionally, theact 808 can involve timing a virtual collision of the virtual objectwith the passenger to cause a perception that the virtual collisionresults in a predicted inertial force.

Furthermore, the method 800 can include an act 810 of providing thethree-dimensional virtual experience. In particular, the act 810 caninvolve providing, to the passenger by way of a virtual reality device,the generated three-dimensional virtual experience while navigating thetravel route to the destination.

The method 800 may further include an act of determining that the travelroute is a new travel route on which the transportation system hasincomplete historical sensory data. The method 800 may include an actof, in response to determining that the travel route is a new travelroute, providing an instruction to the sensor suite associated with thetransportation vehicle to take sensory readings during navigation of thetravel route, as well as adding the sensory readings associated with thenew travel route to the historical sensory data. Additionally, themethod 800 can include an act of identifying, within a database of thetransportation system, a substitute travel route on which thetransportation system has complete historical sensory data, wherein thesubstitute travel route has attributes within a threshold similarity ofthe new travel route.

Additionally, the method 800 may include an act of identifying a firstplurality of maneuvers within the new travel route and a secondplurality of maneuvers within the substitute travel route, as well as anact of determining that the substitute travel route has attributeswithin the threshold similarity of the new travel route by analyzing thefirst plurality of maneuvers and the second plurality of maneuvers.Still further, the method 800 may include an act of predicting, based onthe historical data associated with substitute travel route, inertialforces that the passenger will experience while navigating the newtravel route within the transportation vehicle. The method 800 may evenfurther include an act of generating, based on the predicted inertialforces that the passenger will experience while navigating the newtravel route, one or more new virtual inertial interactions, each of theone or more new virtual inertial interactions corresponding to apredicted inertial force associated with the new travel route.

In addition, the method 800 may include an act of providing anindication to start a presentation of the generated three-dimensionalvirtual experience when the transportation vehicle begins driving to thedestination after picking up the passenger, as well as an act ofproviding an indication to end the presentation of the generatedthree-dimensional virtual experience when the transportation vehiclestops to drop of the passenger at the destination.

Furthermore, the method 800 may include an act of identifying a locationof a plurality of transportation vehicles associated with thetransportation system, and may also include an act of generating aplurality of virtual elements corresponding to the plurality oftransportation vehicles to include within the three-dimensional virtualexperience. In addition, the method 800 may include an act of providingan option to share the generated three-dimensional virtual experiencewith another passenger.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a series of acts in a method 900 ofgenerating and providing a three-dimensional virtual environment. Forexample, the method 900 can include an act 902 of initiating a transportride. In particular, the act 902 can involve initiating a transport ridefor a passenger by way of an autonomous transportation vehicle.

The method 900 can include an act 904 of gathering sensory information.In particular, the act 904 can involve gathering, by way of a sensorsuite associated with the autonomous transportation vehicle, sensoryinformation from an environment surrounding the autonomoustransportation vehicle. Gathering the sensory information can includescanning the environment surrounding the autonomous transportationvehicle by way of a LIDAR sensor.

Based on gathering the sensory information, the method 900 can includean act 906 of determining a sensory view. In particular, the act 906 caninvolve determining a sensory view of the environment surrounding theautonomous transportation vehicle.

Additionally, and also based on gathering the sensory information, themethod 900 can also include an act 908 of generating a three-dimensionalvirtual environment. In particular, the act 908 can involve generating athree-dimensional virtual environment that includes the sensory view ofthe environment surrounding the autonomous transportation vehicle. Theact 908 can further involve incorporating mapping data (e.g., from athird-party mapping service) to more accurately determine size, shape,and locations of buildings or other objects for generating within thethree-dimensional virtual environment.

The method 900 can also include an act 910 of providing thethree-dimensional virtual environment. In particular, the act 910 caninvolve providing, to the passenger by way of a virtual reality device,the generated three-dimensional virtual environment.

Furthermore, the method 900 can include an act of analyzing theenvironment surrounding the autonomous transportation vehicle toidentify one or more objects within the environment, wherein the sensoryview of the environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle includes asensory representation of each of the one or more objects identifiedwithin the environment.

The method 900 can still further include an act of providing, to thepassenger by way of the virtual reality device, an option to share thegenerated three-dimensional virtual environment with another passenger.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise or utilize a specialpurpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, suchas, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussedin greater detail below. Embodiments within the scope of the presentdisclosure also include physical and other computer-readable media forcarrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or datastructures. In particular, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices (e.g., any of the media content access devicesdescribed herein). In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein.

Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby a general purpose or special purpose computer system.Computer-readable media that store computer-executable instructions arenon-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices).Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions aretransmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation,embodiments of the disclosure can comprise at least two distinctlydifferent kinds of computer-readable media: non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (devices) and transmission media.

Non-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices) includes RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives (“SSDs”) (e.g., based on RAM),Flash memory, phase-change memory (“PCM”), other types of memory, otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium which can be used to store desired programcode means in the form of computer-executable instructions or datastructures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer.

Further, upon reaching various computer system components, program codemeans in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structurescan be transferred automatically from transmission media tonon-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices) (or viceversa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structuresreceived over a network or data link can be buffered in RAM within anetwork interface module (e.g., a “NIC”), and then eventuallytransferred to computer system RAM and/or to less volatile computerstorage media (devices) at a computer system. Thus, it should beunderstood that non-transitory computer-readable storage media (devices)can be included in computer system components that also (or evenprimarily) utilize transmission media.

Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which, when executed at a processor, cause a general-purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing deviceto perform a certain function or group of functions. In someembodiments, computer-executable instructions are executed on ageneral-purpose computer to turn the general-purpose computer into aspecial purpose computer implementing elements of the disclosure. Thecomputer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or evensource code. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the described features or acts described above.Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example formsof implementing the claims.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure may bepracticed in network computing environments with many types of computersystem configurations, including, virtual reality devices, personalcomputers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, mobile telephones, PDAs, tablets, pagers, routers, switches,and the like. The disclosure may also be practiced in distributed systemenvironments where local and remote computer systems, which are linked(either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by acombination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a network,both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment, program modulesmay be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented in cloudcomputing environments. In this description, “cloud computing” isdefined as a model for enabling on-demand network access to a sharedpool of configurable computing resources. For example, cloud computingcan be employed in the marketplace to offer ubiquitous and convenienton-demand access to the shared pool of configurable computing resources.The shared pool of configurable computing resources can be rapidlyprovisioned via virtualization and released with low management effortor service provider interaction, and then scaled accordingly.

A cloud-computing model can be composed of various characteristics suchas, for example, on-demand self-service, broad network access, resourcepooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, and so forth. Acloud-computing model can also expose various service models, such as,for example, Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service(“PaaS”), and Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”). A cloud-computingmodel can also be deployed using different deployment models such asprivate cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, and soforth. In this description and in the claims, a “cloud-computingenvironment” is an environment in which cloud computing is employed.

FIG. 10 illustrates, in block diagram form, an exemplary computingdevice 1000 that may be configured to perform one or more of theprocesses described above. One will appreciate that the Virtual realitytransportation system 106 can comprise implementations of the computingdevice 1000. As shown by FIG. 10, the computing device can comprise aprocessor 1002, memory 1004, a storage device 1006, an I/O interface1008, and a communication interface 1010. In certain embodiments, thecomputing device 1000 can include fewer or more components than thoseshown in FIG. 10. Components of computing device 1000 shown in FIG. 10will now be described in additional detail.

In particular embodiments, processor(s) 1002 includes hardware forexecuting instructions, such as those making up a computer program. Asan example, and not by way of limitation, to execute instructions,processor(s) 1002 may retrieve (or fetch) the instructions from aninternal register, an internal cache, memory 1004, or a storage device1006 and decode and execute them.

The computing device 1000 includes memory 1004, which is coupled to theprocessor(s) 1002. The memory 1004 may be used for storing data,metadata, and programs for execution by the processor(s). The memory1004 may include one or more of volatile and non-volatile memories, suchas Random Access Memory (“RAM”), Read Only Memory (“ROM”), a solid-statedisk (“SSD”), Flash, Phase Change Memory (“PCM”), or other types of datastorage. The memory 1004 may be internal or distributed memory.

The computing device 1000 includes a storage device 1006 includesstorage for storing data or instructions. As an example, and not by wayof limitation, storage device 1006 can comprise a non-transitory storagemedium described above. The storage device 1006 may include a hard diskdrive (HDD), flash memory, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive or acombination of these or other storage devices.

The computing device 1000 also includes one or more input or output(“I/O”) devices/interfaces 1008, which are provided to allow a user toprovide input to (such as user strokes), receive output from, andotherwise transfer data to and from the computing device 1000. These I/Odevices/interfaces 1008 may include a mouse, keypad or a keyboard, atouch screen, camera, optical scanner, network interface, modem, otherknown I/O devices or a combination of such I/O devices/interfaces 1008.The touch screen may be activated with a stylus or a finger.

The I/O devices/interfaces 1008 may include one or more devices forpresenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphicsengine, a display (e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers(e.g., display drivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or moreaudio drivers. In certain embodiments, devices/interfaces 1008 isconfigured to provide graphical data to a display for presentation to auser. The graphical data may be representative of one or more graphicaluser interfaces and/or any other graphical content as may serve aparticular implementation.

The computing device 1000 can further include a communication interface1010. The communication interface 1010 can include hardware, software,or both. The communication interface 1010 can provide one or moreinterfaces for communication (such as, for example, packet-basedcommunication) between the computing device and one or more othercomputing devices 1000 or one or more networks. As an example, and notby way of limitation, communication interface 1010 may include a networkinterface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with anEthernet or other wire-based network or a wireless NIC (WNIC) orwireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network, such as aWI-FI. The computing device 1000 can further include a bus 1012. The bus1012 can comprise hardware, software, or both that couples components ofcomputing device 1000 to each other.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example network environment 1100 of a virtualreality transportation system. The network environment 1100 representsan example environment for virtual reality transportation system 106,discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 1. Network environment 1100includes a client system 1106, a transportation service system 1102, anda vehicle subsystem 1108 connected to each other by a network 1104.Although FIG. 11 illustrates a particular arrangement of client system1106, transportation service system 1102, vehicle subsystem 1108, andnetwork 1104, this disclosure contemplates any suitable arrangement ofclient system 1106, transportation service system 1102, vehiclesubsystem 1108, and network 1104. As an example, and not by way oflimitation, two or more of client system 1106, transportation servicesystem 1102, and vehicle subsystem 1108 communicate directly, bypassingnetwork 1104. As another example, two or more of client system 1106,transportation service system 1102, and vehicle subsystem 1108 may bephysically or logically co-located with each other in whole or in part.Moreover, although FIG. 11 illustrates a particular number of clientsystems 1106, transportation service systems 1102, vehicle subsystems1108, and networks 1104, this disclosure contemplates any suitablenumber of client systems 1106, transportation service systems 1102,vehicle subsystems 1108, and networks 1104. As an example, and not byway of limitation, network environment 1100 may include multiple clientsystem 1106, transportation service systems 1102, vehicle subsystems1108, and networks 1104.

This disclosure contemplates any suitable network 1104. As an example,and not by way of limitation, one or more portions of network 1104 mayinclude an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, or a combinationof two or more of these. Network 1104 may include one or more networks1104.

Links may connect client system 1106, transportation service system1102, and vehicle subsystem 1108 to communication network 1104 or toeach other. This disclosure contemplates any suitable links. Inparticular embodiments, one or more links include one or more wireline(such as for example Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or Data Over CableService Interface Specification (DOCSIS), wireless (such as for exampleWi-Fi or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), oroptical (such as for example Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) orSynchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) links. In particular embodiments,one or more links each include an ad hoc network, an intranet, anextranet, a VPN, a LAN, a WLAN, a WAN, a WWAN, a MAN, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the PSTN, a cellular technology-based network, asatellite communications technology-based network, another link, or acombination of two or more such links. Links need not necessarily be thesame throughout network environment 1100. One or more first links maydiffer in one or more respects from one or more second links.

In particular embodiments, client system 1106 may be an electronicdevice including hardware, software, or embedded logic components or acombination of two or more such components and capable of carrying outthe appropriate functionalities implemented or supported by clientsystem 1106. As an example, and not by way of limitation, a clientsystem 1106 may include any of the computing devices discussed above inrelation to FIG. 10. A client system 1106 may enable a network user atclient system 1106 to access network 1104. A client system 1106 mayenable its user to communicate with other users at other client systems1106.

In particular embodiments, client system 1106 may include a web browser,such as MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, GOOGLE CHROME or MOZILLA FIREFOX,and may have one or more add-ons, plug-ins, or other extensions, such asTOOLBAR or YAHOO TOOLBAR. A user at client system 1106 may enter aUniform Resource Locator (URL) or other address directing the webbrowser to a particular server (such as server), and the web browser maygenerate a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request and communicatethe HTTP request to server. The server may accept the HTTP request andcommunicate to client system 1106 one or more Hyper Text Markup Language(HTML) files responsive to the HTTP request. Client system 1106 mayrender a webpage based on the HTML files from the server forpresentation to the user. This disclosure contemplates any suitablewebpage files. As an example, and not by way of limitation, webpages mayrender from HTML files, Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language (XHTML)files, or Extensible Markup Language (XML) files, according toparticular needs. Such pages may also execute scripts such as, forexample and without limitation, those written in JAVASCRIPT, JAVA,MICROSOFT SILVERLIGHT, combinations of markup language and scripts suchas AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCRIPT and XML), and the like. Herein,reference to a webpage encompasses one or more corresponding webpagefiles (which a browser may use to render the webpage) and vice versa,where appropriate.

In other particular embodiments, client system 1106 may include avirtual reality device such as OCULUS RIFT, SAMSUNG GEAR VR, HTC VIVE,GOOGLE CARDBOARD, SONY PLAYSTATION VR, GOOGLE DAYDREAM, or others.Accordingly, the client system 1106 may use virtual three-dimensionalrendering technology such as three-dimensional space mapping,multi-projected environments, sensory input, and haptic feedback.Indeed, in some embodiments, the client system 1106 may include ahandheld controller or other device to provide vibrations or otherhaptic feedback to convey virtual interactions as described above.

In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 may be anetwork-addressable computing system that can host a ride sharetransportation network. Transportation service system 1102 may generate,store, receive, and send data, such as, for example, user-profile data,concept-profile data, text data, ride request data, GPS location data,driver data, passenger data, vehicle data, or other suitable datarelated to the ride share transportation network. This may includeauthenticating the identity of drivers and/or vehicles who areauthorized to provide ride services through the transportation servicesystem 1102. In addition, the transportation service system may manageidentities of service requestors such as users/passengers. Inparticular, the transportation service system may maintain passengerdata such as driving/riding histories, personal data, or other user datain addition to navigation and/or traffic management services or otherlocation services (e.g., GPS services).

In particular embodiments, the transportation service system 1102 maymanage ride matching services to connect a user/passenger with a vehicleand/or driver. By managing the ride matching services, thetransportation service system 1102 can manage the distribution andallocation of vehicle subsystem 102 resources and user resources such asGPS location and availability indicators, as described herein.

Transportation service system 1102 may be accessed by the othercomponents of network environment 1100 either directly or via network1104. In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 mayinclude one or more servers. Each server may be a unitary server or adistributed server spanning multiple computers or multiple datacenters.Servers may be of various types, such as, for example and withoutlimitation, web server, news server, mail server, message server,advertising server, file server, application server, exchange server,database server, proxy server, another server suitable for performingfunctions or processes described herein, or any combination thereof. Inparticular embodiments, each server may include hardware, software, orembedded logic components or a combination of two or more suchcomponents for carrying out the appropriate functionalities implementedor supported by server. In particular embodiments, transportationservice system 1102 may include one or more data stores. Data stores maybe used to store various types of information. In particularembodiments, the information stored in data stores may be organizedaccording to specific data structures. In particular embodiments, eachdata store may be a relational, columnar, correlation, or other suitabledatabase. Although this disclosure describes or illustrates particulartypes of databases, this disclosure contemplates any suitable types ofdatabases. Particular embodiments may provide interfaces that enable aclient system 1106, or a transportation service system 1102 to manage,retrieve, modify, add, or delete, the information stored in data store.

In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 mayprovide users with the ability to take actions on various types of itemsor objects, supported by transportation service system 1102. As anexample, and not by way of limitation, the items and objects may includeride share networks to which users of transportation service system 1102may belong, vehicles why users may request, location designators,computer-based applications that a user may use, transactions that allowusers to buy or sell items via the service, interactions withadvertisements that a user may perform, or other suitable items orobjects. A user may interact with anything that is capable of beingrepresented in transportation service system 1102 or by an externalsystem of a third-party system, which is separate from transportationservice system 1102 and coupled to transportation service system 1102via a network 1104.

In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 may becapable of linking a variety of entities. As an example, and not by wayof limitation, transportation service system 1102 may enable users tointeract with each other or other entities, or to allow users tointeract with these entities through an application programminginterfaces (API) or other communication channels.

In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 alsoincludes user-generated content objects, which may enhance a user'sinteractions with transportation service system 1102. User-generatedcontent may include anything a user can add, upload, or send totransportation service system 1102. As an example, and not by way oflimitation, a user communicates with transportation service system 1102from a client system 1106. Chats may include data such as chat questionsor other textual data, location information, photos, videos, links,music or other similar data or media. Content may also be added totransportation service system 1102 by a third-party through a“communication channel,” such as another user's virtual reality device.

In particular embodiments, transportation service system 1102 mayinclude a variety of servers, sub-systems, programs, modules, logs, anddata stores. In particular embodiments, transportation service system1102 may include one or more of the following: a web server, actionlogger, API-request server, relevance-and-ranking engine, content-objectclassifier, notification controller, action log,third-party-content-object-exposure log, inference module,authorization/privacy server, search module, advertisement-targetingmodule, user-interface module, user-profile store, connection store,third-party content store, or location store. Transportation servicesystem 1102 may also include suitable components such as networkinterfaces, security mechanisms, load balancers, failover servers,management-and-network-operations consoles, other suitable components,or any suitable combination thereof. In particular embodiments,transportation service system 1102 may include one or more user-profilestores for storing user profiles. A user profile may include, forexample, biographic information, demographic information, behavioralinformation, social information, or other types of descriptiveinformation, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies orpreferences, interests, affinities, or location.

The web server may include a mail server or other messagingfunctionality for receiving and routing messages between transportationservice system 1102 and one or more client systems 1106. An actionlogger may be used to receive communications from a web server about auser's actions on or off transportation service system 1102. Inconjunction with the action log, a third-party-content-object log may bemaintained of user exposures to third-party-content objects. Anotification controller may provide information regarding contentobjects to a client system 1106. Information may be pushed to a clientsystem 1106 as notifications, or information may be pulled from clientsystem 1106 responsive to a request received from client system 1106.Authorization servers may be used to enforce one or more privacysettings of the users of transportation service system 1102. A privacysetting of a user determines how particular information associated witha user can be shared. The authorization server may allow users to opt into or opt out of having their actions logged by transportation servicesystem 1102 or shared with other systems, such as, for example, bysetting appropriate privacy settings. Third-party-content-object storesmay be used to store content objects received from third parties.Location stores may be used for storing location information receivedfrom client systems 1106 associated with users.

In particular embodiments, the vehicle subsystem 1108 may include sensorsuite 1110. For example, the sensor suite 1110 can be mounted on the topof the vehicle subsystem 1108 or else can be located within the interiorof the vehicle subsystem 1108. In certain embodiments, the sensor suite1110 can be located in multiple areas at once—i.e., split up throughoutthe vehicle subsystem 1108 so that different components of the sensorsuite 1110 can be placed in different locations in accordance withoptimal operation of the sensor suite 1110. In these embodiments, thesensor suite can include a LIDAR sensor and an inertial measurement unit(IMU) including one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, andone or more magnetometers. The sensor suite can additionally oralternatively include a wireless IMU (WIMU), one or more cameras, one ormore microphones, or other sensors or data input devices capable ofreceiving and/or recording information relating to navigating a route topick up, transport, and/or drop off a passenger.

In addition, the vehicle subsystem 1108 can include a human-operatedvehicle or an autonomous vehicle. A driver of a human-operated vehiclecan perform maneuvers to pick up, transport, and drop off one or morepassengers according to the embodiments described herein. In certainembodiments, the vehicle subsystem 1108 can include an autonomousvehicle—i.e., a vehicle that does not require a human operator. In theseembodiments, the vehicle subsystem 1108 can perform maneuvers,communicate, and otherwise function without the aid of a human driver,in accordance with available technology.

In particular embodiments, the vehicle subsystem 1108 may include acommunication device capable of communicating with the client system1106 and/or the transportation service system 1102. For example, thevehicle subsystem 1108 can include an on-board computing devicecommunicatively linked to the network 1104 to transmit and receive datasuch as GPS location information, sensor-related information, passengerlocation information, or other relevant information.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. Various embodimentsand aspects of the invention(s) are described with reference to detailsdiscussed herein, and the accompanying drawings illustrate the variousembodiments. The description above and drawings are illustrative of theinvention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.Numerous specific details are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. For example, the methods described herein may beperformed with less or more steps/acts or the steps/acts may beperformed in differing orders. Additionally, the steps/acts describedherein may be repeated or performed in parallel with one another or inparallel with different instances of the same or similar steps/acts. Thescope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claimsrather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come withinthe meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embracedwithin their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a processorof a transportation system, a travel route for a transportation vehicleto navigate to deliver a passenger to a destination; accessing, based onthe determined travel route, historical data associated with multipleprevious travel routes that include route portions that coincide withroute portions of the travel route; generating, based on a combinationof the historical data associated with the multiple previous travelroutes, an inertial force model for the travel route, the inertial forcemodel comprising predicted inertial forces associated with the travelroute; generating a three-dimensional virtual experience by generating,based on the generated inertial force model, a plurality of virtualinertial interactions, each of the plurality of virtual inertialinteractions corresponding to a predicted inertial force associated withthe travel route; and providing, to the passenger by way of a virtualreality device, the generated three-dimensional virtual experience whilenavigating the travel route to the destination.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the historical data comprises sensory data including arecord, associated with at least one travel route previously traveled byat least one transportation vehicle associated with the transportationsystem, of inertial forces experienced throughout navigation of at leasta portion of the at least one travel route.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the historical data comprises readings taken by a sensorassociated with transportation vehicles during travel routes associatedwith the transportation system.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thesensor comprises a LIDAR sensor.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining that the travel route is a travel route on whichthe transportation system has stored a number of historical sensoryreadings that fails to satisfy a threshold.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: in response to determining that the number ofhistorical sensory readings fails to satisfy the threshold, providing aninstruction to the transportation vehicle to take sensory readingsduring navigation of the travel route; and adding the sensory readingsassociated with the travel route to the historical data.
 7. The methodof claim 6, further comprising identifying, within a database of thetransportation system, a substitute travel route on which thetransportation system has complete historical data, wherein thesubstitute travel route has attributes within a threshold similarity ofthe travel route.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:identifying a first plurality of maneuvers within the travel route and asecond plurality of maneuvers within the substitute travel route; anddetermining that the substitute travel route has attributes within thethreshold similarity of the travel route by analyzing the firstplurality of maneuvers and the second plurality of maneuvers.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: predicting, based on thehistorical data associated with the substitute travel route, inertialforces that the passenger will experience along the travel route withinthe transportation vehicle; and generating the inertial force modelbased at least in part on the predicted inertial forces that thepassenger will experience along the travel route based on the historicaldata associated with the substitute travel route.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: providing an indication to start apresentation of the generated three-dimensional virtual experience whenthe transportation vehicle begins driving to the destination afterpicking up the passenger; and providing an indication to end thepresentation of the generated three-dimensional virtual experience whenthe transportation vehicle stops to drop off the passenger at thedestination.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transportationvehicle is an autonomous transportation vehicle.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein generating the three-dimensional virtual experience comprisesgenerating, for one or more of the plurality of virtual inertialinteractions, a virtual object that appears, by observation through thevirtual reality device, to interact with the passenger.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein generating the virtual object for one or more ofthe plurality of virtual inertial interactions comprises timing avirtual collision of the virtual object with the passenger to cause aperception that the virtual collision results in a predicted inertialforce.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningweather conditions along the travel route; and wherein the predictedinertial forces associated with the travel route comprise predictedinertial forces associated with the weather conditions along the travelroute.
 15. A system comprising: a server device comprising at least oneprocessor; and a non-transitory storage medium comprising instructionsthereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause theserver device to: determine, by a processor of a transportation system,a travel route for a transportation vehicle to navigate to deliver apassenger to a destination; access, based on the determined travelroute, historical data associated multiple previous travel routes thatinclude route portions that coincide with route portions of the travelroute; generate, based on a combination of the historical dataassociated with the multiple previous travel routes, an inertial forcemodel for the travel route, the inertial force model comprisingpredicted inertial forces associated with the travel route; generate athree-dimensional virtual experience by generating, based on thegenerated inertial force model, a plurality of virtual inertialinteractions, each of the plurality of virtual inertial interactionscorresponding to a predicted inertial force associated with the travelroute; and provide, to the passenger by way of a virtual reality device,the generated three-dimensional virtual experience while navigating thetravel route to the destination.
 16. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the server device to provide, to the passenger by wayof the virtual reality device, an option to share the generatedthree-dimensional virtual experience with another passenger.
 17. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that,when executed by at least one processor, cause at least one computerdevice to: determine, by a processor of a transportation system, atravel route for a transportation vehicle to navigate to deliver apassenger to a destination; access, based on the determined travelroute, historical data associated multiple previous travel routes thatinclude route portions that coincide with route portions of the travelroute; generate, based on a combination of the historical dataassociated with the multiple previous travel routes, an inertial forcemodel for the travel route, the inertial force model comprisingpredicted inertial forces associated with the travel route; generate athree-dimensional virtual experience by generating, based on thegenerated inertial force model, a plurality of virtual inertialinteractions, each of the plurality of virtual inertial interactionscorresponding to a predicted inertial force associated with the travelroute; and provide, to the passenger by way of a virtual reality device,the generated three-dimensional virtual experience while navigating thetravel route to the destination.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 17, wherein the historical data comprisessensory data including a record, associated with at least one travelroute previously traveled by at least one transportation vehicleassociated with the transportation system, of inertial forcesexperienced throughout navigation of at least a portion of the at leastone travel route.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 17, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the at least one computer device to determinethat the travel route is a travel route on which the transportationsystem has stored a number of historical sensory readings that fails tosatisfy a threshold.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 19, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the at least one computer device to: inresponse to determining that the number of historical sensory readingsfails to satisfy the threshold, provide an instruction to thetransportation vehicle to take sensory readings during navigation of thetravel route; and add the sensory readings associated with the travelroute to the historical data.